Wenell, Mary K. (1926-2016)
WENELL, LONE, NESBIT, WAKEFIELD, BILLMAN, SIGMUND
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 2/1/2017 at 14:42:00
Mary K. Wenell
June 13, 1926 - December 10, 2016Mary Kathryn (Lone) Wenell, age 90, went to join our Lord Jesus on Saturday, December 10, 2016, at her daughter, Kathy (Stuart) Wenell-Nesbit’s home on Lake Wissota, Wisconsin. Surrounded by loving family throughout her nine weeks of hospitalizations and rehab efforts, she died of complications from a broken hip.
A daughter of Harry and Lula (Wakefield) Lone, Mary was born on June 13, 1926, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where she lived until her family moved to Des Moines, Iowa, when she was ten.
A very active member of her class, Mary graduated from East High School in Des Moines. Throughout her high school years, for example, she served as class treasurer. She took great pride in having graduated from East High and attended her yearly class reunions and class monthly lunches throughout her adult life. Indeed, in 2015, she attended her 70th class reunion.
After graduating, Mary worked at the Iowa State House for the Board of Education Examiners. During this time, she met the love of her life, Arnold Wenell, who was attending business school in Des Moines. After they married on February 8, 1947, they returned to Arnold’s family’s home in Albert City, Iowa. The following year, they began farming southwest of Laurens, Iowa. There, they farmed for twenty-nine years before moving to their home in Laurens in 1976. After enjoying her years as a stay-at-home mom, Mary began working at Fowser’s Jewelry Store in 1972 and eventually bought the business in 1975, renaming the store “The Jewelry ‘N Gift Shoppe.” She owned and managed the business until 1988 when she retired to enjoy more time with Arnold as well as with her children and grandchildren.
Mary loved the Lord and actively participated in the life of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Albert City, Iowa, where she remained a member throughout her adult life. She and Arnold enjoyed many of the church activities including a church sponsored trip to Europe. She, also, enjoyed participating in Cursillo as well as the Friendly Friday Club. After moving to Wisconsin to live with her daughter and son-in-law in 2011, she attended Bethesda Lutheran Brethren Church in Eau Claire for the past five years.
Mary and Arnold enjoyed traveling, including taking trips to Europe, Canada, Mexico, and almost all the states. After Arnold passed, Mary continued to enjoy traveling, taking her family to both the Cayman Islands and Hawaii. Indeed, she enjoyed many trips with family including a two-week trip to Florida just before she broke her hip. She wintered in Hawaii with family and had been looking forward to another winter there this year with twenty-four family members joining her.
Because of her spunk and sense of humor, everybody loved Mary. Her laughter and smile were contagious. Even the nurses, CNAs, and doctors, constantly, commented on her beautiful, sweet smile. Mary loved them all. In the final analysis, however, she loved her family more than all the others. She treasured her three children, but even more, she treasured her eight grandchildren and their spouses and her sixteen great-grandchildren. Without exception, she made every attempt to attend their activities, play games with them, read to them, talk to them, and give them lots of hugs and kisses. They adored her, and she adored them! And they all loved each other “MORE.” LUM (Love you more), became her signature phrase, and she really meant it!
Survivors include her son, Doug (Sue) Wenell, of Laurens, Iowa, her daughter-in-law, Cindy Wenell, of Independence, Minnesota, and her daughter, Kathy (Stuart) Wenell-Nesbit, of Lake Wissota, Wisconsin; her eight grandchildren and their spouses and her sixteen great-grandchildren, Darci (Kevin), Maggie and Michael Maas, of Adair, Iowa; Heidi (Brent), Brayton, Halle, Boston, and Hilton Foster, of Lake Sarah, Minnesota; Jeff Wenell, of Dakota Dunes, South Dakota; Jennifer (Jason), Jaden, Lexi, and Chase Billman, of Ham Lake, Minnesota; Chad (Tiff), Brody, and Braxton Wenell, of Lawton, Iowa; Jason (Shanelle), JaeDon, and Georgia Wenell, of Broomfield, Colorado: Nicki (Ben), Jake, and Izzy Peterson of Grantsburg, Wisconsin; and Matt (Bethany) and Summer Wenell, of Minneapolis, Minnesota; her brother, Bud (Wanda) Lone, of West Des Moines, Iowa, her sister, Helen (Dave) Sigmund, of Des Moines, Iowa, and her sisters-in-law, Lorene Lone, of Naples, Florida, and Karen Wenell, of Indianola, Iowa; as well as many beloved nieces, nephews, and friends.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Arnold, in 1997; her son, Don, in 2005; and her brother, Bill Lone; as well as infant brother, Louie.
Services be held in both Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and in Laurens, Iowa. The Iowa services will include a visitation on Sunday, December 18, 2016, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Powers Funeral home in Laurens with the funeral service to be held at the Evangelical Covenant Church in Albert City, Iowa, at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, December 19, 2016. Burial will follow in the Laurens Cemetery. Memorial gifts will be forwarded to her churches and to Hospice.
Powers Funeral Home, Pocahontas, Iowa.
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